Saturday, September 01, 2012

'S No Joke! Zoomer's Summer Snowstorm by Ned Young

A balmy day sounds like a treat in winter, but who hasn't had a sweaty moment in high summer when the thought of rolling in those fluffy wintry snow banks has had a momentary enticing appeal? In Ned Young's Zoomer saga, Zoomer's Summer Snowstorm (Harper), young black and tan hound Zoomer retreats from the sunny and steamy outdoors for a quick icy pick-me-up from his very own snow machine.

But Zoomer's creations have a way of turning into something else, and this time the snowcone machine runs amok. To avoid filling the kitchen with man-made snow, Zoomer aims it out the window, where it sluices a stream of icy effluent which would delight any snow machine operator in a scanty ski season.

Zoomer's yard is soon filling up with the white stuff, to the consternation of his brothers who are in the midst of a pick-up baseball game. But Zoomer sees the imaginative possibilities of the unseasonal snowfall:

ZOOMER GOT RIGHT TO WORK TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FIRST SNOWSTORM OF THE SUMMER.

He soon sculpts a fantasia of sea creatures, dinosaurs, and a veritable menagerie of creative beasts which he christens Zoomartica, complete with a miniature amusement park locomotive in which Zoomer tootles around the snowy premises.

It's all a bit of super-silly surrealism that tickles the funny bone while remaining totally cool. To author Ned Young's over-the-top imaginative text, he adds outrageously comic illustrations which will inspire lots of scrutiny by young readers. As School Library Journal's reviewer remarks,

"Young's illustrations are bursting with the contrast between the green of summer and the blue white of winter. They practically leap from the page and give the text amazing vitality."

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Retired after 32+ years as an elementary librarian, I really miss the joy of bringing together the right book with the right reader at the right time. Loving both kids and books equally as I do, perhaps helping children and the adults who care about them find good books through this blog is the next best thing to being there.
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